The governor is in breach of contract by not honoring the 4-percent increases to state employees. State employees are near the bottom of the food chain. They have a weak pension, mediocre health benefits and are paid on average 22-percent less salary than similar private-sector jobs.

They take these jobs for the stability and security, which is now gone. During good times, private-sector employees are getting large bonuses while state employees are fighting for nominal 2-4-percent raises. Even revenue-producing agencies do not receive bonuses, overrides or commissions.

Now state employees are subject to a one-day-a-week furloughs until a budget is passed. This is a 20-percent salary reduction. This is severe considering the average employee makes less than $50,000 and the average pension is about $16,000 annually.

To add insult to injury, temporary employees, on whom the state has wasted over $62 million, are not subject to furloughs. Also, upstate management, making well into the six figures, will not share the pain even though some have taken raises close to $30,000 over the last three years.

Gov. Paterson is trying to balance the state budget on the backs of the state employees which is not only wrong but illegal.